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43rd Vuelta al Pais Vasco - 2.HC

Spain, April 7-11, 2003

Stage 5b - April 11: Fuenterrabía ITT, 13 km

Mayo's surprise!

Euskaltel leader wins TT and overall

By Chris Henry

Iban Mayo (Euskaltel-Euskadi) stamped his authority on the Vuelta al Pais Vasco
with a dramatic win in the final time trial. Mayo denied American Tyler Hamilton
of an important victory today after Hamilton looked set to dominate the final
13km time trial in Fuenterrabía. Mayo and Hamilton set the stage for
the victory showdown after breaking away with Mayo's teammate Samual Sanchez
in the morning road race and putting 22" between themselves and Dario Frigo,
plus an additional 47" to the remaining race favourites. While Hamilton might
have been favoured to win the time trial, nothing could stop Mayo from claiming
victory on Basque soil.

In continued rain, the remaining riders of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco tackled
a technical course which featured a climb mid-way through the course, topping
out with a slick section of pavé through the streets of Fuenterrabía.
The weather didn't keep the crowds away, as it seemed the whole of the Basque
region was out to urge on the boys in orange.

Early markers were set by Levi Leipheimer, followed by Alexandre Vinokourov,
then former race leader Angel Vicioso, who stormed across the line in 20.07.
With time gaps of 22 seconds to Frigo and 47 seconds to the remainder of the
favourites after the morning's stage, however, the trio of Mayo, Sanchez, and
Hamilton were most likely to play out the finale, with Frigo in with a shout.

Dario Frigo did show good speed on the course, but it was not enough to make
up for the morning's defeat, when he was unable to hold the wheels of the other
escapees on the descent of the Erlaitz. Instead, Hamilton rocketed over the
first portion of the course with an astounding 12" advantage over the best time
of Vicioso at the 5km time check. All signs looked to be pointing toward a CSC
victory. Until, that is, Mayo began his charge, starting last as race leader.

Benefitting from the manic screams of the Basque supporters, and the split
times of Hamilton, who started just two riders ahead, Mayo was unstoppable.
He passed the 5km check point 6" behind Hamilton, but rather than lose morale,
he simply went faster. By the end of his ride, Mayo had made up his entire deficit
on Hamilton, and went one better by winning the stage a full 12" ahead of Vicioso,
whose time withstood Hamilton's charge by less than a second.

Crossing the line with victory in hand, Mayo was all smiles on an otherwise
dreary day, raising his arm and saluting the crowd. Hamilton's third place on
the stage was enough to give him second overall, thanks to his advantage over
Vicioso after stage 5a. Mayo and his Euskaltel-Euskadi team scored an important
victory en route to a possible Tour de France wild card selection, injected
some much-needed drama into the second half of the five day race, and delighted
their local supporters in the process.